PREFACE

The preface to "The Spectator Pepars" serves as a crucial piece where Joseph Addisoin explains the
purpose, inspiration, and motivations behind his epic work. In this preface, Addisoin addresses the reader
directly and provides insights into his creative process, the sources that influenced him, and the objectives
he aimed to achieve with "The Spectators Pepars."

In the syllabus by the University there is an inclusion to write and present a project on any author prescribed
in semester VII and VIII this project is being submitted under the supervision of Prof. (Dr.) A. K. Singh
and members of the English Department at R.B.S.

College Khandari Agra.

Date :- 12/04/2024

Ashwani sharma

M.A. I (English Lit.)

Roll No. 2400020150006

ii
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project entitled Joseph Addisoin "Spectator Pepar” has been originally
carried out by me under the guidance and supervision of Prof. (Dr.) A. K. Singh, Professor & Head
of The English Department. Raja Balwant Singh College, Agra, affiliated to Dr. Bhimrao
Ambedkar University, Agra. This is also declared that this project has not been submitted
elsewhere for any other degree/diploma of any University or Institution.

Place: Agra

Ashwani Shrama

Roll No. 2400020150006

M.A. I (English Literature)
iv
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Ashwani sharma S/o MR. Manoj Sharma a student of M.A.(English),

VII and VIII semester bearing roll no. 2400020150006 who has completed his research project

as per the prescribed syllabus under my supervision and guidance.

Forwarded by: Supervised by:

Prof. (Dr) A. K. Singh Prof. (Dr) A. K. Singh

Professor And Head Professor And Head

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
R.B.S. COLLEGE, AGRA 282002
 vii

Content

Preface ................................................................................................ i

Declaration ............................................................................................ ii

Certificate ............................................................................................. iii

CHAPTER: 1

Introduction…………………………………………………………..(1-4)

CHAPTER:2

His life and Works……………………………………………………(4-11)

CHAPTER3

His Vision…………………………………………………………….(12-14)

CHAPTER:4

Art of challenge ………………………………………………………(15-30)

CHAPTER:5
Conclusion………………………………………………………………(31)
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction by Joseph Addison

Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 May 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and
politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside
that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine.
His simple prose style marked the end of the mannerisms and conventional classical
images of the 17th century.[1]
 Secretary of State for the Southern Department

In office

12 April 1717 – 14 March 1718

Signature

CHAPTRE 2

Life and work

Addison was born in Milston, Wiltshire, but soon after his birth his father, Lancelot Addison,
was appointed Dean of Lichfield and the family moved into the cathedral close. His father was
a scholarly English clergyman. Joseph was educated at Charterhouse School, London, where he
first met Richard Steele, and at The Queen's College, Oxford.[2] He excelled in classics, being
specially noted for his Neo-Latin verse, and became a fellow of Magdalen College.

In 1693, he addressed a poem to John Dryden, and his first major work, a book of the lives of English
poets, was published in 1694. His translation of Virgil's Georgics was published in the same year.
Dryden, Lord Somers and Charles Montague, 1st Earl of Halifax, took an interest in Addison's work
and obtained for him a pension of £300 a year to enable him to travel to Europe with a view to
diplomatic employment, all the time writing and studying politics.
While, in Switzerland, in 1702, he heard of the death of William III, an event which lost him his
pension, as his influential contacts, Halifax and Somers, had lost their employment with the Crown.

Political career
Addison returned to England at the end of 1703. For more than a year he remained unemployed, but
the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 gave him a fresh opportunity to distinguish himself. The government,
specifically Lord Treasurer Godolphin, commissioned Addison to write a commemorative poem
about the battle, and he produced The Campaign, which was received with such satisfaction that he
was appointed Commissioner of Appeals in Halifax's government. [3]

His next literary venture was an account of his travels in Italy, Remarks on several parts of

Italy, &c., in the years 1701, 1702, 1703, published in 1705 by Jacob Tonson.[4]

In 1705, with the Whigs in power, Addison was made Under-Secretary of State and
accompanied Lord Halifax on a diplomatic mission to Hannover, Germany. A biography of
Addison states: "In the field of his foreign responsibilities Addison's views were those of a
good Whig. He had always believed that England's power depended upon her wealth, her
wealth upon her commerce, and her commerce upon the freedom of the seas and the checking
of the power of France and Spain."[5]

In 1708 and 1709, Addison was a Member of Parliament for the borough of Lostwithiel. He was
soon appointed secretary to the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Wharton. Under the direction
of Wharton, he was an MP in the Irish House of Commons for Cavan Borough from 1709 until
1713. In 1710, he represented Malmesbury, in his home county of Wiltshire, holding the seat until
his death in 1719.

Magazine founder
He met Jonathan Swift in Ireland and remained there for a year. Later, he helped form the Kitcat
Club and renewed his friendship with Richard Steele. In 1709, Steele began to publish the Tatler,
and Addison became a regular contributor. In 1711, they began The Spectator; its first issue appeared
on 1 March 1711. This paper, which was originally a daily, was published until 20 December 1714,
interrupted for a year by the publication of The Guardian in 1713. His last publication was The
Freeholder, a political paper, in 1715–16.

Plays
He wrote the libretto for Thomas Clayton's opera Rosamond, which had a disastrous premiere in
London in 1707.[6] In 1713 Addison's tragedy Cato was produced, and was received with
acclamation by both Whigs and Tories. He followed this effort with a comedic play, The Drummer
(1716).

Cato

The actor John Kemble, in the

role of Cato, revived at Covent
Garden in 1816, drawn by
George Cruikshank.
In 1712, Addison wrote his most famous work, Cato, a Tragedy. Based on the last days of Marcus
Porcius Cato Uticensis, it deals with conflicts such as individual liberty versus government tyranny,
Republicanism versus Monarchism, logic versus emotion, and Cato's personal struggle to retain his
beliefs in the face of death. It has a prologue written by Alexander Pope and an epilogue by Samuel
Garth.[7]

The play was a success throughout the British Empire. It continued to grow in popularity, especially
in America, for several generations. It is cited by some historians as a literary inspiration for the
American Revolution, being known to many of the Founding Fathers. General George Washington
sponsored a performance of Cato for the Continental Army during the difficult winter of 1777–78
at Valley Forge. According to John J. Miller, "no single work of literature may have been more
important than Cato" for the leaders of the American revolution.[8]

Scholars have identified the inspiration for several famous quotations from the American Revolution
in Cato. These include:

In 1789, Edmund Burke quoted the play in a letter to Charles-Jean-François Depont entitled

Reflections on the revolution in France, saying that the French people may yet be obliged to go
through more changes and "to pass, as one of our poets says, 'through great varieties of untried
being,'" before their state obtains its final form.[10] The poet referred to is Addison and the passage
quoted is from Cato (V.i. II): "Through what variety of untried being, through what new scenes and
changes must we pass!"

Though the play has fallen from popularity and is now rarely performed, it was popular and
often cited in the eighteenth century, with Cato being an example of republican virtue and
liberty. John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon were inspired by the play to write an epistolary
exchange entitled Cato's Letters (1720–1723), concerning individual rights, using the name
"Cato".

The action of the play involves the forces of Cato at Utica, awaiting the attack of Caesar immediately
following his victory at Thapsus (46 BC). The noble sons of Cato, Portius and Marcus, are both in
love with Lucia, the daughter of Lucius, an ally of Cato. Juba, prince of Numidia, one of Cato's
warriors, loves Cato's daughter Marcia. Meanwhile, Sempronius, a senator, and Syphax, a general
of the Numidians, are conspiring secretly against Cato, hoping to prevent the Numidian army from
supporting him. In the final act, Cato commits suicide, leaving his followers to make their peace
with the approaching army of Caesar – an easier task after Cato's death, since he was Caesar's most
implacable enemy.
Hymn
Addison wrote the popular church hymn "The Spacious Firmament on High", publishing it in The
Spectator in 1712. It is sung either to the tune known as "London (Addison's)" by John Sheeles,
written c. 1720, or to "Creation" by Joseph Haydn, 1798.[11]

Marriage and death

The later part of Addison's life was not without its troubles. In 1716, he married Charlotte,

Dowager Countess of Warwick, after working for a time as a tutor for her son. He then lived at

Bilton Hall in Warwickshire.[12] His political career continued, and he served as Secretary of

State for the Southern Department from 1717 to 1718. His political newspaper The

Freeholder was much criticised. His wife was arrogant and imperious; his stepson, Edward Rich,
was an unfriendly rake. Addison's shyness in public limited his effectiveness as a member of
Parliament. He eventually fell out with Steele over the Peerage Bill.

In 1718, Addison was forced to resign as Secretary of State because of his poor health, but he
remained an MP until his death at Holland House, London, on 17 June 1719 (aged 47). He was
buried in Westminster Abbey. After his death, an apocryphal story circulated that Addison, on his
deathbed, had sent for his wastrel stepson to witness how a Christian man meets death.

On 6 April 1808, Middletown, a town in upstate New York, was renamed Addison in his honour.

Addison Road in West Kensington was also named after him.

 Contribution

It is as an essayist that Addison is remembered today. He began writing essays quite casually. In
April 1709, his childhood friend Richard Steele started the Tatler. Addison contributed 42 essays to
the Tatler, while Steele wrote 188. Regarding Addison's help, Steele remarked, "when I had once
called him in, I could not subsist without dependence on him".[13] The Tatler was discontinued on 2
January 1711. The Spectator began publication on 1 March of that year, and it continued – being
issued daily, and achieving great popularity – until 6 December 1712. It exercised an influence over
the reading public of the time, and Addison soon became the leading partner in it, contributing 274
essays out of a total of 635; Steele wrote 236. Addison also assisted Steele with The Guardian, which
began in 1713. Addison is the originator of the quote, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to
the body". The quote can be found in Issue 147 of the Tatler.[14]

The breezy, conversational style of the essays later prompted Bishop Richard Hurd to reprove
Addison for what he called an "Addisonian Termination", or preposition stranding, a grammatical
construction that ends a sentence with a preposition.[15]Alexander Pope in his 1735 Epistle to Dr
Arbuthnot made Addison an object of derision, naming him "Atticus", and comparing him to an
adder, "willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike".

He wrote an essay entitled Dialogues on Medals which was translated into French by
eighteenthcentury priest and journalist Simon-Jérôme Bourlet de Vauxcelles (1733–1802). His
essay "Adventures of a Shilling" (1710) is a brief, early example of an it-narrative or object
narrative, a genre that would become more common later in the century. [16] He also left an
incomplete work, Of the Christian Religion.
 Timeline

Albin Schram letters

In 2005, an Austrian banker and collector named Albin Schram died, and in a file cabinet next to his
laundry room a collection of a thousand letters was found, some of them of interest to historians.
Two of them were written by Joseph Addison.

The first reported on a debate in the House of Commons about a grant to John Churchill, 1st Duke
of Marlborough, and his heirs, following the Battle of Ramillies. The letter was written on the day
of the debate, probably to George Stepney.

Addison explains that the motion was opposed by Misters Annesley, Ward, Casar, and Sir William
Vevian.
 One said that this was showing no honour to His Grace but to a posterity that
he was not concern'd in. Casar ... hoped ye Duke tho he had ben Victorious
over the Enemy would not think of being so over a House of Commons: wch
was said in pursuance to a Motion made by some of the Craftier sort that would
not oppose the proposition directly but turn it off by a Side-Wind pretending
that it being a money affaire it should be refer'd to a Committee of the whole
House wch in all probability would have defeated the whole affaire....

Following the Duke of Marlborough's successful campaign of 1706, the Duke and George
Stepney became the first English regents of the Anglo-Dutch condominium for governing the
southern Netherlands. It was Stepney who formally took possession of the principality of
Mindelheim in the Duke's name on 26 May, after the Battle of Ramillies. Upon Marlborough's return
to London in November, Parliament accepted the Duke's request that a grant of £5,000 'out of ye
PostOffice' be made in perpetuity to his heirs.

A second letter, written to Richard Steele, was also found, concerning the Tatler and other matters.

I very much liked your last paper upon the Courtship that is usually paid to the
fair sex. I wish you had reserved the Letter in this days paper concerning
Indecencies at Church for an entire piece. It wd have made as good a one as
any you have published. Your Reflections upon Almanza are very good.

The letter concludes with references to impeachment proceedings against Addison's friend Henry
Sacheverell ("I am much obliged to you for yor Letters relating to Sackeverell"), and the Light House
petition:

I am something troubled that you have not sent away ye Letters received from
Ireland to my Lord Lieutenant, particularly that from Mr Forster [the Attorney
General] with the Enclosed petition about the Light House, which I hope will
be delivered to the House before my Return.

Analysis

Addison's character has been described as kind and magnanimous, albeit somewhat cool and
unimpassioned, with a tendency for convivial excess. His appealing manners and conversation
contributed to his general popularity. He often put his friends under obligations for substantial
favours, but he showed great forbearance toward his few enemies. His essays are noted for their
clarity and elegant style, as well as their cheerful and respectful humour.

William Thackeray portrayed Addison and Steele as characters in his novel The History of Henry

Esmond.

Lord Macaulay wrote this generous tribute to Addison, which was published in 1866, seven years
after Macaulay's death in 1859:

As a man, he may not have deserved the adoration which he received from those who,
bewitched by his fascinating society, and indebted for all the comforts of life to his generous
and delicate friendship, worshiped him nightly, in his favourite temple at Button's. But, after
full inquiry and impartial reflection, we have long been convinced that he deserved as much
love and esteem as can be justly claimed by any of our infirm and erring race. Some
blemishes may undoubtedly be detected in his character; but the more carefully it is
examined, the more it will appear, to use the phrase of the old anatomists, sound in the noble
parts, free from all taint of perfidy, of cowardice, of cruelty, of ingratitude, of envy. Men
may easily be named, in whom some particular good disposition has been more conspicuous
than in Addison. But the just harmony of qualities, the exact temper between the stern and
the humane virtues, the habitual observance of every law, not only of moral rectitude, but
of moral grace and dignity, distinguish him from all men who have been tried by equally
strong temptations, and about whose conduct we possess equally full information."[17]
 CHAPTER 4

The eighteenth century was a great period for English prose, though not for English poetry. Matthew
Arnold called it an “age of prose and reason,” implying thereby that no good poetry was written in
this century, and that, prose dominated the literary realm. Much of the poetry of the age is prosaic,
if not altogether prose-rhymed prose. Verse was used by many poets of the age for purposes which
could be realized, or realized better, through prose. The general view is that the eighteenth century
was not altogether barren of real poetry. Even then, it is better known for the galaxy of brilliant
prose writers that it threw up. In this century there was a remarkable proliferation of practical
interests which could best be expressed in a new kind of prose-pliant and kind of a work of a day
capable of rising to every occasion. This prose was simple and modern, having nothing of the
baroque or Ciceronian colour of the prose of the seventeenthcentury writers like Milton and Sir
Thomas Browne. Practicality and reason ruled supreme in prose and determined its style. It is really
strange that in this period the language of prose was becoming simpler and more easily
comprehensible, but, on the other hand, the language of poetry was being conventionalized into that
artificial “poetic diction” which at the end of the century was so severely condemned by Wordsworth
as “gaudy and inane phraseology.” And during this age, Joseph Addison with Richard Steele made
valuable contribution to English essays, especially Periodical essays.

LIFE SKETCH
Addison was born in Milston, Wiltshire, but soon after his birth his father, Lancelot Addison, was
appointed Dean of Lichfield and the Addison family moved into the cathedral close. He was
educated at Charterhouse School, where he first met Richard Steele, and at The Queen’s College,
Oxford. He excelled in classics, being specially noted for his Latin verse, and became a Fellow of
Magdalen College. In 1693, he addressed a poem to John Dryden, and his first major work, a book
of the lives of English poets, was published in 1694. His translation of Virgil’s Georgics was
published the same year. Dryden, Lord Somers and Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, took an
interest in Addison’s work and obtained for him a pension of £300 to enable him to travel to Europe
with a view to diplomatic employment, all the time writing and studying politics. While in
Switzerland in 1702, he heard of the death of William III, an event which lost him his pension, as
his influential contacts, Halifax and Somers, had lost their employment with the Crown. Together
with his friend Richard Steele, Joseph Addison helped usher in a new age of journalism with the
influential periodical The Spectator, which helped shape middle-class taste, manners, and morality
during the 18th century.

Addison attended Oxford University, where he distinguished himself as a master of Latin verse.
In1695, he wrote A Poem to his Majesty in praise of King William III. It will be noteworthy to
mention that by dedicating the poem to John Somers, a prominent Whig politician, Addison won
Somers’s patronage and was given a grant to travel abroad in Europe on diplomatic missions. In
1705, he again used poetry to further his political career, penning The Campaign, which glorified
John Churchill, the duke of Marlborough, for his role in the British conquest of the French during
the War of the Spanish Succession. The poem helped secure his position in Whig political circles.
He later served as a member of the British and Irish parliaments and eventually obtained several
important government posts, including that of secretary of state.

When the Whigs lost power in 1710, Addison found himself without steady income. He reconnected
with his old college friend Richard Steele, who had recently launched The Tatler, a journal that
offered humorous pieces and political commentary with a decidedly Whig bias. Soon Addison began
regularly contributing essays anonymously to The Tatler. They were so well received that the poet
John Gay wondered why the author refused to sign “pieces which the greatest

pens in England would be proud to own.”

1.2.4 . Manners, Morals, and the Middle Class

The Tatler folded in January 1711, but two months later Steele and Addison inaugurated The
Spectator, which, unlike their earlier venture, was non partisan. A masterful prose stylist, Addison
was responsible for a considerable amount of the journal’s content. Addison and Steele were
successful in their attempt to bring philosophy “out of closets and libraries . . . and in [to]
coffeehouses,” partly because the light, humorous style of The Spectator made its moral content
acceptable to its 18th-century audience. By praising marriage and honesty while ridiculing
hypocrisy and pride, Addison sought to improve the morals and manners of the readers. His scenes
of everyday life continue to provide readers valuable insights into how the emerging middle class

.3. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PERIODICAL ESSAY

Now let us have a brief idea about the English periodical essays. In the eighteenth century, British
periodical literature underwent significant developments in terms of form, content, and audience.
Several factors contributed to these changes. Prior to 1700 the English popular press was in its
infancy. The first British newspaper, The Oxford Gazette, was introduced in 1645. Two years later
the Licensing Act of 1647 established government control of the press by granting the Gazette a
strictly enforced monopoly on printed news. As a result, other late seventeenth-century periodicals,
including The Observer (1681) and The Athenian Gazette (1691), either supplemented the news
with varied content, such as political commentary, reviews, and literary works, or provided
specialized material targeting a specific readership. During this time, printing press technology was
improving. Newer presses were so simple to use that individuals could produce printed material
themselves. British society was in transition as well. The burgeoning commercial class created an
audience with the means, education, and leisure time to engage in reading. When the Licensing Act
expired in 1694, publications sprang up, not just in London, but all across England and its colonies.
Joseph Addison and Richard Steele are generally regarded as the most significant figures in the
development of the eighteenth-century periodical. Together they produced three publications: The
Tatler (1709-11), The Spectator (171112), and The Guardian (1713). In addition, Addison published
The Free-Holder (1715-16), and Steele, who had been the editor of The London Gazette (the former
Oxford Gazette) from 1707 to 1710, produced a number of other periodicals, including
The Englishman (1713-14), Town-Talk (1715-16), and The Plebeian (1719). The three periodicals
Addison and Steele produced together were great successes; none ceased publication because of
poor sales or other financial reasons, but by the choice of their editors. Beginning in the eighteenth
century and continuing to the present day, there has been debate among critics and scholars over the
contributions of Addison and Steele to their joint enterprises. Addison has been generally seen as
the more eloquent writer, while Steele has been regarded as the better editor and organizer.
Periodicals in the eighteenth century included social and moral commentary, and literary and
dramatic criticism, as well as short literary works. They also saw the advent of serialized stories,
which Charles Dickens, among others, would later perfect. One of the most important outgrowths
of the eighteenth-century periodical, however, was the topical, or periodical, essay. Although
novelist Daniel Defoe made some contributions to its evolution with his Review of the Affairs of
France (1704-13), Addison and Steele are credited with bringing the periodical essay to maturity.
Appealing to an educated audience, the periodical essay as developed by Addison and Steele was
not scholarly, but casual in tone, concise, and adaptable to a number of subjects, including daily life,
ethics, religion, science, economics, and social and political issues.
Another innovation brought about by the periodical was the publication of letters to the editor, which
permitted an unprecedented degree of interaction between author and audience. Initially,
correspondence to periodicals was presented in a limited, question-and-answer form of exchange.
As used by Steele, letters to the editor brought new points of view into the periodical and created a
sense of intimacy with the reader. The feature evolved into a forum for readers to express
themselves, engage in a discussion on an important event or question, conduct a political debate, or
ask advice on a personal situation. Steele even introduced an advice to the lovelorn column to The
Tatler and The Spectator.
Addison and Steele and other editors of the eighteenth century saw their publications as performing
an important social function and viewed themselves as moral instructors and arbiters of taste. In part
these moralizing and didactic purposes were accomplished through the creation of an editorial voice
or persona, such as Isaac Bickerstaff in The Tatler, Nestor Ironside in The Guardian, and, most
importantly, Mr. Spectator in The Spectator. Through witty, sometimes satirical observations of the
contemporary scene, these fictional stand-ins for the editors attempted to castigate vice and promote
virtue. They taught lessons to encourage certain behaviours in their readers, especially self-
discipline. Morals were a primary concern, especially for men in business. Women, too, formed a
part of the readership of periodicals, and they were instructed in what was expected of them, what
kind of ideals they should aspire to, and what limits should be on their concerns and interests.
The impact of periodicals was both immediate and ongoing. Throughout the eighteenth century and
beyond there were many imitators of Addison and Steele’s publications. These successors, which
arose not just in England, but in countries throughout Europe and in the United States as well,
modelled their style, content, and editorial policies on those of The Tatler, The Spectator, and The
Guardian. Some imitators, such as The Female Spectator (1744), were targeted specifically at
women. Addison and Steele’s periodicals achieved a broader influence when they were translated
and reprinted in collected editions for use throughout the century. The epistolary exchanges, short
fiction, and serialized stories included in the periodicals had an important influence on the
development of the novel. In addition, celebrated figures from Benjamin Franklin and JeanJacques
Rousseau to Mark Twain have acknowledged the impact of the eighteenthcentury

periodical, particularly The Spectator, on their development as writers and thinkers.

The periodical essay was a new literary form that emerged during the early part of the eighteenth
century. Periodical essays typically appeared in affordable publications that came out regularly,
usually two or three times a week, and were only one or two pages in length. Unlike other
publications of the time that consisted of a medley of information and news, essay periodicals were
comprised of a single essay on a specific topic or theme, usually having to do with the conduct or
manners. They were often narrated by a persona or a group of personas, commonly referred to as a
“club.” (DeMaria 529) For the most part, readers of the periodical essay were the educated middle
class individuals who held learning in high esteem but were not scholars or intellectuals. Women
were a growing part of this audience and periodical editors often tried to appeal to them in their
publications. (Shevelow 27-29)
The Tatler (1709-1711) and The Spectator (1711-1712) were the most successful and influential
single-essay periodicals of the eighteenth century but there are other periodicals that helped shape
this literary genre. While the periodical essay emerged during the eighteenth century and reached
its peak in publications like The Tatler and The Spectator, its roots can be traced back to the late
seventeenth century. An important forerunner to the Spectator is John Dunton’s Athenian Mercury,
which played a key role in the development of the periodical essay.
The Athenian Mercury began publication in 1691 with the purpose of ‘resolving weekly all the most
nice and curious questions propos’d by the ingenious.’ It did not publish essays. Instead it followed
a question and answer or “advice column” format and is one of the first periodicals to solicit
questions from its audience. Readers submitted questions anonymously and their candid inquiries
were answered by a collection of “experts” known as the Athenian Society or simply the
“Athenians.” Dunton hinted that the Athenian Society was made up of a group of learned
individuals, but in reality the society only consisted of three people who were not necessarily
“authorities.” Their identities remained a secret, however, and this is one of the first instances of a
periodical using a fictional social group or club to answer questions or narrate
Each issue of the Athenian Mercury would answer anywhere from eight to fifteen questions on
topics ranging from love, marriage and relationships to medicine, superstitions and the paranormal.
Dunton received so many questions from female readers that he decided to devote the first Tuesday
of every month to questions from women. (Berry 18-19) Examples of the questions submitted to the
Athenians include:
Why the Sea is salt? (Athenian Gazette vol. 1 no.2),Whence proceeds weeping and laughing from
the same cause? (Athenian Gazette vol.1 no.3) Whether most Persons do not marry too young?
(Athenian Gazette vol. 1, no. 13) and whether it be proper for Women to be Learned? (Athenian
Gazette vol. 1, no. 18)
As these sample questions demonstrate, the Athenian Mercury was focused on the social and cultural
concerns of individuals. These subjects tapped into the reading public’s desire for knowledge,
instructive information, and for something new and as a result, the Athenian Mercury was a huge
success. (Hunter 14-15) Several features of the Athenian Mercury, such as its epistolary format and
its creation of a fictional club, would be continued by another influential periodical published during
the eighteenth century, Daniel Defoe’s The Review. (DeMaria 529-531) Originally known as A
Weekly Review of the Affairs of France; Purg’d from the Errors and Partiality of News writers and
Petty Statesmen of All sides, the Review began publication in 1704 as an eight page weekly. The
title, length and frequency of the periodical changed in subsequent issues until it eventually became
a triweekly periodical entitled The Review. (Defoe, Secord xviixviii)
Most issues of The Review consisted of a single essay, usually covering a political topic, which was
followed by questions-and-answers section called the Mercure Scandal: or Advice from the Scandal
Club, translated out of French. Defoe eventually replaced the translated out of French with A
Weekly History of Nonsense, Impertinency, Vice and Debauchery. (DeMaria 531) In this section, a
fictional group known as the “Scandal Club” answered readers’ questions on a variety of subjects
including drinking, gambling, love and the treatment of women. The advice column component of
The Review was so popular among readers that Defoe began publishing a twentyeight page monthly
supplement devoted entirely to readers’ questions. By May 1705 Defoe dropped the Advice from
the Scandal Club from The Review and began publishing the questionsand-answers separately in a
publication entitled The Little Review. (Graham 48-49)
With their advice column elements, the Advice from the Scandal Club and The Little Review were
obvious imitators of the Athenian Mercury. However, the questions and answers in Defoe’s
periodicals were longer and mostly written as letters and this type of prose writing would eventually
evolve into the single essay format of The Tatler and The Spectator. (Graham 50) Like other
periodicals of the time, the Advice from the Scandal Club and The Little Review addressed questions
of behaviour and conduct but Defoe’s tone was more satirical and he would often mock the stuffiness
of the Athenian Mercury in his essays. Defoe’s periodicals were also less mannerly and he often
placed ads for products like remedies for venereal disease within their pages. (DeMaria 532)
The single-essay made its first appearance in The Tatler, which began publication in 1709. Created
by Richard Steele, the purpose of The Tatler was to “offer something, whereby such worth members
of the public may be instructed, after their reading, what to think..” and to “have something of which
may be of entertainment to the fair sex..” (Tatler, April 12, 1709) Steele was the creator but other
significant writers of the time, including Joseph Addison and Jonathan Swift, were also contributors.
The Tatler was a single-sheet paper that came out three times a week and in the beginning, consisted
of short paragraphs on topics related to domestic, foreign and financial events, literature, theatre and
gossip. Each topic fell under the heading of a specific place, such as a coffee house, where that
discussion was most likely to take place. (Mackie 15) Isaac Bickerstaff, the sixtysomething fictional
editor, narrated The Tatler and his thoughts on miscellaneous subjects were included under and
criticism of the contemporary life—for a reformatory purpose; men needed to have an instruction
and an example in order to know how to act, and that example was provided by the periodicals. In
his first Tatler, Steele states blandly that his paper will serve those who are publicspirited enough to
“neglect their own affairs and look into the actions of state,” men who are “persons of strong zeal
and weak intellect,” and will instruct those politic persons “what to think.” Addison, in his statement
of purpose in The Spectator, No. 10, is even more explicit: “to the end that their virtue and discretion
may not be short, transient intermittent starts of thought, I have resolved to refresh their memories
from day to day, till I have recovered them out of that desperate state of vice and folly into which
the age is fallen.”
Addison was echoing the thoughts of a number of thinkers of his age; the beginnings of the
eighteenth century saw a desire for reform in many areas of living, “for a purer and simpler morality,
for gentler manners, for...dignified selfrespect,” a new civilization, in effect. The periodical writers
were following a powerful tendency of the eighteenth century, “the reaction against the moral
license of Restoration society which came with the rise of the middle class to prominence and
affluence.” The tendency toward moralization and satire may have been influenced too by disgust
with its opposite force, the immense self-satisfaction of men of the time. Englishmen in the early
years of the century had ample reasons for being satisfied with their lot; England had emerged in
these years as a victorious power, commerce was expanding, the middle class was wealthy and
growing—the mainstay of an apparently stable society. When men of the Age of Reason looked
back on the conflicts and controversies of the seventeenth century, their reliance on “good sense”
and moderation seemed to be justified. Lord Shaftesbury, in his Characteristics of Men, Manners,
Opinions, Times, published in 1711, expressed the prevailing concept of “order” as the basis and
end of human action:
The sum of philosophy is to learn, what is just in society and beautiful in nature and
the order of the world…. The taste of beauty and the relish of what is decent, just,
and amiable, perfect the character of the gentleman and the philosopher.
This glib and rather vague ideal- - self-perfection by the improvement of taste—was rooted in the
belief that the world was not becoming a better place for intelligent human beings; men had only to
raise themselves by conscious efforts toward self-improvement. The periodical writers echoed, to
some extent, the complacency of the times, the sense of security and calm, but also tried to correct
the faults that were products of this complacency. Of their readers, they demanded sane, level-
headed actions backed by the dictates of reason and common sense.
Eighteenth- century writers, and particularly the periodical essayists, showed the same concern for
order, reason, and good sense in their writing. Reacting against the passion and complexity of the
seventeenth- century metaphysical school, they strove for clearness, for correctness, and for a
balanced style that would underline their rational persuasions. Their principal aim was to be
understood-, and the lucidity and symmetry which their prose attained is a result of the conscious
effort to fix a standard of clarity.
One chief contribution that the periodical writers made to English literature was the colloquial
manner they adopted in order to appeal to a wider public; they required that a piece of prose or
poetry be “interesting, agreeable, and above all comprehensible.” The periodical essay was designed
to reach the always expanding and powerful middle classes, and to interest them in the forming of
manners and morals, that would fit them for the new age.
The belief in the perfectibility of man and the clear, reasoned prose in which this belief was
proclaimed were inspired by the effect of scientific discovery and research on the period. Newtonian
science had induced men to accept the fact that the natural order was explainable, that man and
nature operated under fixed laws, and that all human endeavour was equally ordered and subject to
rules that, if they were not understood at the present time, would be grasped eventually. Thus, the
best writing was that which strove for mathematical clearness and precision. Of course, writers could
not succumb completely to such an idea, but the ‘scientific spirit’ did influence a literary genre that
in its best examples is justifiably famous for its clear, balanced, familiar, and very reasonable prose.

ladies and gentlemen of the metropolis. The daily life of these people was “sedentary and artificial
to a degree hardly credible to modern readers.” They seemed to have little to do besides dressing
themselves and attending various amusements of the city; their interest in fashion and fashionable
manners was excessive. The fascination of the upper classes with ornament—in speech, manners,
and dress—was subject to increasing ridicule by the advocates of sense and moderation, and with
good reason. Both men and women used a great amount of cosmetics, and were perfumed and
powdered to the hilt. Dress of both sexes was characterized by frills and bright colours. The elaborate
headpieces and enormous hats of the women paralleled the excesses in men’s dress. This
extravagance in style carried through all the dress of both sexes; the cost of clothing and accessories
was high, and many of the gallants owed their tailors more than they could pay.
Other favourite objects for satire and ridicule were the amusements, often in doubtful taste that
Londoners were fond of, such as animal-baiting, cockfights—”the eighteenth century loved such
shows and cared very little for the cruelty involved”—boxing and wrestling matches and various
‘rough sports’ at fairs. Gambling, on cards, horses, lotteries, cock fights, etc., was a vice to which
all classes were partial. Card playing in particular was universally popular and was indulged in by
many ladies and gentlemen almost to the exclusion of other interests (like work). The more serious
vices—duelling, sexual immorality, and drinking—were not ignored by the periodical writers; the
aim of the essayists was to correct these vices and to raise moral standards.
The chief outlets for the periodicals and the soil in which the ideas introduced in the essays took
root were the coffee houses, the intellectual and social centres of the eighteenth century. Coffee had
been brought into England about the middle of the preceding century and by the early 1700’s had
become an institution. Coffee houses were the chief gathering places for men of letters and were the
natural centres for the dissemination of ideas and information. Each coffee house had its own
clientele, and discussion was on topics of interest and import to the particular trade or social group
that “belonged” there.
In the coffee houses circles were formed to mull over the matters of the day; the opinions of the
coffee houses became the criteria for pronouncing judgment on ideas and events of the times. The
give and take of conversation was an important feature of London life and influenced it in many
ways. Men’s ideas were moulded and refined through contact with others’ thoughts, and
conversation became clearer and more polished.
The coffee houses had a direct effect on the literary style of the periodicals; because the papers were
circulated and discussed in these centres, the writing needed to be as clear and colloquial as
conversation. The coffee houses were an admirable part of eighteenth century life, but other facets
of the times were less pleasant. The unpleasant aspects of the century—the prevalence of violence
and crime in the poorly lighted London streets, the cruel punishments of criminals, the quackery of
“medical” men, the extreme poverty of the lower classes—were not reflected to as great a degree as
upper class morals and manners, but it was in this atmosphere that the periodical essay developed
and did more, perhaps, than any other institution toward improving social conditions. As the age
cried out to be educated, to be instructed in sane living, the periodicals answered with their sage and
reasoned advice. The best, most readable of these “advisors of the age” were Richard
Steele’s The Tatler, Joseph Addison’s The Spectator, Samuel Johnson’s The Rambler, and Oliver
Goldsmith’s collection of essays, The Citizen of the World.
He returned to England at the end of 1703. For more than a year he remained without employment,
but the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing himself. The
government, more specifically Lord Treasurer Godolphin, commissioned Addison to write a
commemorative poem, and he produced The Campaign, which gave such satisfaction that he was
forthwith appointed a Commissioner of Appeals in Halifax’s government. His next literary venture
was an account of his travels in Italy, which was followed by an opera libretto titled Rosamund. In
1705, with the Whigs in political power, Addison was made Under-Secretary of State and
accompanied Halifax on a mission to Hanover. Addison’s biographer states: “In the field of his
foreign responsibilities Addison’s views were those of a good Whig. He had always believed that
England’s power depended upon her wealth, her wealth upon her commerce, and her commerce
upon the freedom of the seas and the checking of the power of France and Spain.”
From 1708 to 1709 he was MP for the rotten borough of Lostwithiel. Addison was shortly afterwards
appointed secretary to the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Wharton, and Keeper of the Records
of that country. Under the influence of Wharton, he was Member of Parliament in the Irish House
of Commons for Cavan Borough from 1709 until 1713. From 1710, he represented Malmesbury, in
his home county of Wiltshire, holding the seat until his death.
He encountered Jonathan Swift in Ireland and remained there for a year. Subsequently, he helped
found the Kitcat Club and renewed his association with Richard Steele. In 1709 Steele began to
bring out The Tatler, to which Addison became almost immediately a contributor: thereafter he
(with Steele) started The Spectator, the first number of which appeared on 1 March 1711. This paper,
which at first appeared daily, was kept up (with a break of about a year and a half when The Guardian
took its place) until 20 December 1714. His last undertaking was The Freeholder, a political paper,
1715–16.
Steele’s ceasing work on The Tatler may have been influenced in part by his recognition that another
writer was bringing to perfection the form which he (Steele) had brought to popularity. Joseph
Addison, although he did not originate the form and method of his medium, explored to the fullest
the possibilities which Steele had suggested.
When Addison contributed to The Tatler, the two friends found that their veins of humour ran
parallel. A month after the paper ceased publication, “Addison and Steele met at a club and laid the
keel for a fresh paper: non-political, that it might live, daily, that it might pay.” The paper was to
concentrate on reforming the morals and manners of society, “to enliven morality with wit,” to keep,
if possible from becoming embroiled in government controversies. The new paper must “look on,
but must be neutral and discreet, merely a spectator—and so it was called.”
The character of the Spectator, as outlined in the first number, was designed to attract the readers of
the now defunct Tatler; he was faintly reminiscent of the sage Mr. Bickerstaff, but was even more
mysterious, a man who never spoke, but who poked his head into all the talkative parts of the town.
Although Steele wrote only slightly fewer papers for the new periodical than his friend (240 to
Addison’s 274), the “spirit of the spectator” is Addison’s; it is Addison’s character that the Spectator
assumes—that of a scholar, wellversed in classical literature, a curious though timid student of
human nature, a sensitive observer of all that goes on around him. He describes himself and the
Spectator:
‘I had not been long at the university, before I distinguished myself by a most profound silence; for
during the space of eight years…I scarce uttered the quantity of an hundred words; and indeed do
not remember that I ever spoke three sentences together in my whole life…Thus I live in the world
rather as a Spectator of mankind than as one of the species; by which means I have made to draw
his information and ideas. But still less than in the case of The Tatler was this scheme carried out,
even in name. The scheme supplied themes for two opening papers, and then The Spectator’s
editorial committee was practically forgotten. In actual reality, Steele and Addison were responsible
for the supply of the daily essay, and no others provided any of the first fifty numbers.
The Spectator, laid upon the London breakfast tables at a penny, was single folio sheet,
doublecolumned on either side, four columns in all, not unlike in size to a single sheet of any one of
the existing weeklies like The Athenaeum or Nature. As indicating the public which the original
Spectators had in view, we may note that the Latin motto at the head of each number is left
untranslated. Advertisements of eight books fill up the first number, the advertisements in later
issues becoming more varied and embracing the theatres and other entertainments and sales of things
in general. The famous publisher and bookseller, Jacob Tonson, advertises the ninth edition

of
Paradise Lost five times in the first fifty issues, “to be sold at Shakespeare’s Head.”
In the public eye the new enterprise was another of Steele’s, and even Swift, who was likely to be
more than ordinarily well informed, assigned to Addison only a subordinate part. We know that
Steele’s confession with regard to The Tatler was even more applicable to its successor. “Addison
is ‘The Spectator,’” says Macaulay. The number of papers contributed by each editor was not very
different, viz., 274 by Addison as against 240 by Steele. Yet general consent goes with Macaulay’s
pronouncement. The outstanding papers are, as a rule, Addison’s, the attractive literary grace is
Addison’s, Addison’s special humour is regarded as distinctive of The Spectator, the whole change
in form from The Tatler is a recognition of Addison’s special strength.
The success of The Spectator was great, as many as fourteen thousand being the estimate of the sale
of one number without any suggestion that the sale of that number was abnormal. Considering how
few were readers at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Macaulay is of opinion that The
Spectator had as great a popularity as “the most successful works of Walter Scott and Dickens in
our own time.” So great was its hold that in August, 1712, when Government imposed a halfpenny
stamp on journals, and many “came down,” The Spectator raised its price to two pence, and
continued to flourish

1.5 THE USES OF ‘THE SPECTATOR’: TEXT (Spectator. No. 10, March 12, 1711)

Non aliter quam qui adverso vix flumine lembum

Remigiis subigit: si brachia forte remisit,
 Atque ilium in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni. —VIRGIL.

So the boat’s brawny crew the current stem,

And, slow advancing, struggle with the stream:
But if they slack their hands or cease to strive,
Then down the flood with headlong haste they drive— DRYDEN.

IT is with much satisfaction that I hear this great city inquiring day by day after these my papers, and
receiving my morning lectures with a becoming seriousness and attention. My publisher tells me, that
there are already three thousand of them distributed every day: so that if I allow twenty readers to
every paper, which I look upon as a modest computation, I may reckon about threescore thousand
disciples in London and Westminster, who I hope will take care to distinguish themselves from the
thoughtless herd of their ignorant and unattentive brethren. Since I have raised to myself so great an
audience, I shall spare no pains to make their instruction agreeable, and their diversion useful. For
which reasons I shall endeavour to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality, that
my readers may, if possible, both ways find their account in the speculation of the day. And to the
end that their virtue and discretion may not be short, transient, intermitting starts of thought, I have
resolved to refresh their memories from day to day, till I have recovered them out of that desperate
state of vice and folly into which the age is fallen. The mind that lies fallow but a single day, sprouts
up in follies that are only to be killed by a constant and assiduous culture. It was said of Socrates that
he brought Philosophy down from heaven, to inhabit among men; and I shall be ambitious to have it
said of me, that I have brought Philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell
in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and in coffee-houses. I would therefore in a very particular
manner recommend these my speculations to all wellregulated families that set apart an hour in every
morning for tea and bread and butter; and would earnestly advise them for their good to order this
paper to be punctually served up, and to be looked upon as

a part of the tea equipage.

Sir Francis Bacon observes that a well-written book, compared with its rivals and antagonists, is like
Moses’s serpent that immediately swallowed up and devoured those of the Egyptians. I shall not be
so vain as to think that, where the SPECTATOR appears, the other public prints will vanish; but
shall leave it to my readers’ consideration, whether it is not much better to be let into the knowledge
of one’s self, than to hear what passes in Muscovy or Poland; and to amuse ourselves with such
writings as tend to the wearing out of ignorance, passion, and prejudice, than such as naturally
conduce to inflame hatreds, and make enmities irreconcilable.
 In the next place, I would recommend this paper to the daily perusal of those gentlemen whom I
cannot but consider as my good brothers and allies, I mean the fraternity of Spectators, who live in
the world without having anything to do in it; and either by the affluence of their fortunes, or
laziness of their dispositions, have no other business with the rest of mankind, but to look upon
them. Under this class of men are comprehended all contemplative tradesmen, titular physicians,
fellows of the Royal Society, Templars that are not given to be contentious, and statesmen that are
out of business; in short, every one that considers the world as a theatre, and desires to form a right
judgment of those who are the actors on it.
There is another set of men that I must likewise lay a claim to, whom I have lately called the blanks
of society, as being altogether unfurnished with ideas, till the business and conversation of the day
has supplied them. I have often considered these poor souls with an eye of great commiseration,
when I have heard them asking the first man they have met with, whether there was any news
stirring? and by that means gathering together materials for thinking. These needy persons do not
know what to talk of, till about twelve a clock in the morning ; for by that time they are pretty good
judges of the weather, know which way the wind sits, and whether the Dutch mail be come in. As
they lie at the mercy of the first man they meet, and are grave or impertinent all the day long,
according to the notions which they have imbibed in the morning, I would earnestly entreat them
not to stir out of their chambers till they have read this paper, and do promise them that I will daily
instil into them such sound and wholesome sentiments, as shall have a good effect on their
conversation for the ensuing twelve hours.
But there are none to whom this paper will be more useful than to the female world. I have often
thought there has not been a sufficient pain taken in finding out proper employments and diversions
for the fair ones. Their amusements seemed contrived for them, rather as they are women, than as
they are reasonable creatures; and are more adapted to the sex than to the species. The toilet is their
great scene of business, and the right adjusting of their hair the principal employment of their lives.
The sorting of a suit of ribbons is reckoned a very good morning’s work; and if they make an
excursion to a mercer’s or a toyshop, so great a fatigue makes them unfit for anything else all the
day after. Their more serious occupations are sewing and embroidery, and their greatest drudgery,
the preparation of jellies and sweet-meats. This, I say, is the state of ordinary women; though I know
there are multitudes of those of a more elevated life and conversation, that move in an exalted sphere
of knowledge and virtue, that join all the beauties of the mind to the ornaments of dress, and inspire
a kind of awe and respect, as well as love, into their male beholders. I hope to increase the number
of these by publishing this daily paper, which I shall always endeavour to make an innocent if not
an improving entertainment, and by that means at least divert the minds of my female readers from
greater trifles. At the same time, as I would fain give some finishing touches to those which are
already the most beautiful pieces in human nature, I shall endeavour to point out all those
imperfections that are the blemishes, as well as those virtues which are the embellishments, of the
sex. In the meanwhile I hope these my gentle readers, who have so much time on their hands, will
not grudge throwing away a quarter of an hour in a day on this paper, since they may do it without
any hindrance to business.
I know several of my friends and well-wishers are in great pain for me lest I should not be able to
keep up the spirit of a paper which I oblige myself to furnish every day: but to make them easy in
this particular, I will promise them faithfully to give it over as soon as I grow dull. This I know will
be matter of great raillery to the small wits ; who will frequently put me in mind of my promise,
desire me to keep my word, assure me that it is high time to give over, with many other pleasantries
of the like nature, which men of a little smart genius cannot forbear throwing out against their best
friends, when they have such a handle given them of being witty. But let them remember that I do
hereby enter my caveat against this piece of raillery.

Addison is glad to note that the spectator has achieved a great amount of success and three thousand
readers are enjoying it. This huge following increases their responsibility of the editor who has to
see that he instructs as well as amuses. He would take all the trouble to make the paper useful for
the large number of readers. He would enliven morality with wit and temper wit with morality, so
that his readers may gain in both ways from the paper and get their money’s worth. He wants that
the effect of the moral instruction given in his paper be lasting and to this effect, he would
continuously drill instruction into the minds of his readers. His purpose was to reform the age out
of the follies and vices and to provide serious thoughts for barren minds which would otherwise
breed folly. Therefore, his ambition is to make this paper a part of the tea- equipage.
The Spectator, according to the writer, is not a political paper m because its purpose is not to cater
to any political party. The editor himself feels that it is of greater use than political papers. This
paper would help the reader to know himself, though it would not let them know what is happening
in Moscow. Addison discloses the demerits of the political papers in as much as they incite anger
and create enmity.
According to the writer, The spectator is specially recommended top certain types of people. The
editor is of the opinion that the paper will be useful for those who are the spectators of himself.
These spectators of the life are not involved in it much but they observe it from a distance. He also
recommends it to theatrical tradesmen, titular physician, fellows of the Royal society, theoretical
templars and statesmen out of business.
Later on, he intends to recommend the paper to those ‘blamers of society’ who are forever at the
mercy of others to gather subjects for conversation because they have nothing of sense in their own
heads. They are advised not to move out of their houses till they have read ‘The Spectator’. The
editor promises to provide them with matter for conversation for ensuing twelve hours.
According to the editor, the paper is of the greatest use to the female world. He feels that sufficient
trouble has not been taken to devise entertainments for the women as rational beings. They are not
treated as intellectuals. They think that the work of toilet is their main business. They consider
sorting a suit of ribbons or visit to the fabric dealer or some shop dealing with trifles a good
morning’s work, and are tired after this to do anything else. Their serious occupations are
embroidery and their greatest drudgery is preparation of jam and jelly making. There are some ladies
who can combine learning with their flair for dressing well and they get success in commanding
the respect and love of the beholders. The writer hopes that this will do his best in pointing out the
blemishes as well as the virtues of the women who are the most beautiful of all human beings.

Joseph Addison was definitely one of the great essayists of the 18th century England. His
contribution is most commonly remembered with Richard Steele, another worthy essayist, for the
periodical essays, ‘The Tatler’ and ‘The Spectator’. His papers and periodicals are the most part
essays in the art of living. They illustrate the practical nature of his own culture, his easy and skilled
mastery of life.
We have come to know how certain factors were responsible for the growth of the periodical essays
in the 18th century. In the essay, Joseph Addison openly discloses his intention his intension of
writing the papers and essays. As the title of the essay is very much indicative, the essay ‘The Uses
of the Spectators’ beautifully exhibits the aims i.e. the uses of the essay. The author informs us that
his essays will be no-political and entertain certain section of the society. The editor is of the opinion
that the paper will be useful for those who are the spectators of themselves. These spectators of the
life are not involved in it much but they observe it from a distance. He also recommends it to
theatrical tradesmen, titular physician, fellows of the Royal society, theoretical templars and
statesmen out of business. Besides this, he is also of the opinion that the paper is of the greatest use
to the female world. He feels that sufficient trouble has not been taken to devise entertainments for
the women as rational beings. They are not treated as intellectuals. The writer hopes that this will
do his best in pointing out the blemishes as well as the virtues of the women who are the most
beautiful of all human beings.

The other two essays will be discussed in the 2nd Unit.

Periodical Essay: The periodical essay was a new literary form that emerged during the early part of
the eighteenth century. Periodical essays typically appeared in affordable publications that came out
regularly, usually two or three times a week, and were only one or two pages in length. Unlike other
publications of the time that consisted of a medley of information and news, essay periodicals were
comprised of a single essay on a specific topic or theme, usually having to do with the conduct or
manners. They were often narrated by a persona or a group of personas, commonly referred to as a
“club.”For the most part, readers of the periodical essay were the educated middle class individuals
who held learning in high esteem but were not scholars or intellectuals. Women were a growing part
of this audience and periodical editors often tried to appeal to them in their publications. Great
examples of Periodical essays contributed by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele are The Tatler,
and The Spectator
The Coffee House: The chief outlets for the periodicals and the soil in which the ideas introduced in
the essays took root were the coffee houses, the intellectual and social centres of the eighteenth
century. Coffee had been brought into England about the middle of the preceding century and by
the early 1700’s had become an institution. Coffee houses were the chief gathering places for men
of letters and were the natural centres for the dissemination of ideas and information. In the coffee
houses circles were formed to mull over the matters of the day; the opinions of the coffee houses
became the criteria for pronouncing judgment on ideas and events of the times. The give and take
of conversation was an important feature of London life and influenced it in many ways. Men’s
ideas were moulded and refined through contact with others’ thoughts, and conversation became
clearer and more polished.
The coffee houses had a direct effect on the literary style of the periodicals; because the papers were
circulated and discussed in these centres, the writing needed to be as clear and colloquial as
conversation. The coffee houses were an admirable part of eighteenth century life, but other facets
of the times were less pleasant. The unpleasant aspects of the century—the prevalence of violence
and crime in the poorly lighted London streets, the cruel punishments of criminals, the quackery of
“medical” men, the extreme poverty of the lower classes—were not reflected to as great a degree as
upper class morals and manners, but it was in this atmosphere that the periodical essay developed
and did more, perhaps, than any other institution toward improving social conditions.
 CHAPTER 5

conclusion
Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician who lived in the 17th
and 18th centuries. He was known for his keen observations of society, wit, and literary style.
In his essays, Addison often concluded with reflections or moral lessons drawn from the topic
at hand. His conclusions typically encapsulated the main ideas of his essays and offered insight
into human nature or societal behavior.

One of his notable works is "The Spectator," a periodical he co-founded with Richard Steele. In
"The Spectator," Addison wrote essays on various topics ranging from politics and literature to
everyday life. His conclusions in these essays often emphasized the importance of virtue,
moderation, and rationality in leading a fulfilling life.

For example, in his essay "On the Pleasures of the Imagination," Addison concludes by
highlighting the role of imagination in enriching human experience and elevating the soul. He
underscores the significance of cultivating the imagination for personal growth and the
appreciation of beauty in the world.

Overall, Addison's conclusions can be characterized by their emphasis on moral values, social
harmony, and the pursuit of intellectual and aesthetic pleasures. His writings continue to be
celebrated for their timeless wisdom and elegant prose.